Bhubaneswar: Even though research has proved benefits of medicinal use of cannabis, the state government has rejected a proposal to allow cannabis cultivation in the state.
Cultivation of cannabis will continue to remain illegal as the state government did not give permission for it, Excise Secretary Sushil Lohani told reporters following a meeting held at Lok Seva Bhavan here Tuesday.
Lohani said even as several industrial units had sought permission for ganja cultivation in the state due to its medicinal values, the Law department has rejected the proposal.
“Various industries had proposed the Excise department to supply the ganja or grant permission for cultivation of the herb for manufacturing of medicines several times. We had referred the proposals to the Law department seeking its reply whether this can be permitted. Based on present rule and Law department’s opinion, we rejected the proposals,” he said.
Decriminalise hemp farming: Satpathy
Former Lok Sabha MP Tathagata Satpathy strongly advocated for decriminalising cannabis cultivation for its medicinal properties.
“There are lots of benefits of cannabis. It is being used to prepare drugs for treatment of diseases like cancer and asthma. More research is also going on in foreign countries in this regard. The state government’s decision to reject the proposal to give permission for cannabis cultivation shows lack of vision,” Satpathy said.
The state government should allow cannabis cultivation by bringing amendments to the law, said the former parliamentarian.
Stating that he is also not in support of legalising cannabis cultivation, Satpathy said, it should be decriminalised.
“As the state government doesn’t have enough money to do research on this, it should allow our farmers, small and marginal, to cultivate cannabis and export it to get benefits,” said Satpathy.
Only 2 to 3 per cent of the total cannabis cultivated is being used as ganja while the remaining is used for medicine preparation, he added.